Written by

Arnie Stapleton

Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD — Tight ends are no longer an afterthought in Denver’s passing game.

In 2009, they had all of 27 catches.

Last year, that number was just 30 — not a single one of them in the end zone — as they were basically used as big bruising blockers in Tim Tebow’s read-option offense.

Enter Peyton Manning and exit the notion of such paltry production from the Broncos tight ends, who are oftentimes more of a slot receiver than a run-blocker in the four-time MVP’s world.

“Last year we had to de-emphasize the tight end’s role in the offense because of the style that we had to evolve to. And we were running the ball a heck of a lot more, so we spent the bulk of our time doing that,” tight ends coach Tony Barone said. “The focus this year shifted back to getting the tight ends more involved and being more of a focal point in the passing game.”

Fellow free agents Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen lead a new group of Broncos tight ends that has collected 70 catches for 657 yards and six touchdowns so far.

That’s the kind of production Barone was accustomed to seeing in a full season from two Pro Bowlers — Atlanta’s Alge Crumpler and San Diego’s Antonio Gates — that he tutored before coming to Denver.

“This collection’s already surpassed that after 11 weeks,” Barone said. “And so I think that speaks volumes to their talents and Peyton’s being able to spread the ball around.”

Tamme and Dreessen signed with the Broncos after Manning picked Denver for his comeback, and they’re a big part of Manning’s re-emergence. With Tamme and Dreessen, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy has two transposable tight ends to move around inside and out to create mismatches.

“It’s a credit to them because they can run some of those same types of option routes or whatever with good speed and good hands,” Manning said. “Those guys have made a lot of plays for us this year.”

After signing Manning, front office boss John Elway went looking for the tight ends to provide the Broncos with the kind of flexibility and production Manning enjoyed in Indianapolis, where he worked with the likes of Dallas Clark, Ken Dilger, Marcus Pollard, Bryan Fletcher and, oh yes, Tamme.

They targeted Dreessen, a seventh-year pro who had all the ingredients and who really hit his stride over the last two seasons in Houston, ranking second in the NFL in percentage (15.6) of catches resulting in touchdowns — 10 of 64.

“Joel was a guy that went to Colorado State, was from the area, was a free agent, was available, we liked him, he had the opportunity to be the No. 1 tight end here, been with a winning organization,” coach John Fox said, rattling off the attributes.

To really capitalize on Dreessen’s skills, the Broncos needed another equally adept and experienced tight end to produce now and also bring along raw second-year hoopsters-turned-tight ends Virgil Green and Julius Thomas.